Made to suffer
by Terminated1
Summary: Joel and Ellie returned to Jackson after the events in Salt Lake, only to find the small community destroyed and all but abandoned. Now, Joel, Ellie, Tommy and Maria are on the road, trying only to survive and find a place in which they can survive
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The summer sun beat down on Joel and Ellie as they sat near the remains of one of Jackson's walls. Neither spoke; instead, they listened to the birds as they chirped in the surrounding trees, the branches creaking as they swayed in the warm summer breeze, the bushes rustling and small animals scurrying through the grass and foliage. They watched the small wisps of clouds as they floated by overhead. Joel looked over to the right, and he could faintly see the hill Ellie and he had stood. The words from their conversation still rang loudly in his ears.

_Swear to me that everything you said about the fireflies is true._ Joel didn't know why her request had shocked him so bad. He had told her the biggest bullshit lie, hadn't completely thought what he was going to say through before he had opened his big mouth.

Ellie's Words, her voice pleading for him to swear to her he hadn't lied, had almost shocked the truth out of him. He had almost opened up and told her of the atrocities he had committed in Saint Mary's Hospital. But then he had relized what he'd been about to say and stopped himself.

_I swear._ he'd said it in a firm, solid voice. One that did not show any hint of a lie. But he had taken too long to answe; he'd hesitated, and when he looked into her eyes, he knew that she saw right through all of the crap he had fed her. She knew that he had been untruthful, and Joel had felt a kind of barrier crop up between them. He'd felt it when she spoke.

_Okay. _What had she meant by that though? Was she willing to play along with his lies and stay with him, or was she saying something else? Joel didn't know; her answer had been so vague.

Joel was yanked from his thoughts by the sound of approaching feet. He swiveled his head and saw Tommy, followed closely by Maria, making his way over. Both had packs slung over their shoulders; a similar look of defeat in their eyes.

"We can't stay here. The place is going to be swarming with infected soon." Maria said. Joel and Ellie nodded their heads and stood. Joel adjusted the strap on his pack and looked to Ellie.

"You okay?" She gave him a small nod. Joel turned his attention back to Tommy and Maria.

"Let's get movin'."

* * *

"You gonna' tell us exactly what happened?" Joel's voice held no small amount of annoyance, and the look of aggravation was easily seen in the light cast by the fire.

They had walked for the entire day, attempting to put as much ground between the shattered remains of Jackson, and themselves. The four of them had covered a good amount of ground, Joel assumed they'd walked close to eight miles, and not a word of what had happened to Jackson had been uttered. Even when Joel and Ellie had found Tommy and Maria that morning outside of the city's walls, Joel had been unable to get Tommy to speak of what had happened.

But now that they were a good distance from Jackson, in a small, secluded clearing with a fire providing them light, Joel felt it was time for Tommy to talk.

For several moments, Tommy was silent. He stared into the fire and seemed to think for quite awhile. He drummed his fingers on his knee and thought. Tommy was quiet for quite awhile, and Joel had opened his mouth to repeat his question by the time he spoke.

"Bandits," Tommy swallowed and shook his head. "They came outta' nowhere. One minute I was sittin' with Maria, eatin' breakfast, and the next I was outside shooting at bandits and tryin' to avoid getting my head blown off." He sighed.

"I still ain't sure how they got through the wall like that. Guess they had explosives on 'em but, the military's the only ones who still have that kind of firepower as far as I know." Joel nodded in silent agreement. For awhile no more words were exchanged. Not until a thought surfaced in Joel's head.

"How many people do ya' think got out?" Tommy glanced at Maria and shrugged his shoulders; Maria spoke for him.

"We don't have a clue. Everybody scattered, and by the time we'd finally chased the bandits off, the place had been deserted." Joel slowly digested this. It had to have been a pretty big attack to get an entire community on the run like that.

Trying to take his thoughts off of that, Joel glanced at Ellie, sitting next to him. Her knees pulled up to her chest with her chin resting on them. She was staring into their small fire as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Joel let out a small sigh, and stood, stretching.

"You should get some sleep, he said, moving off from the fire. "I'll take first watch." The tone in his voice left no room for arguments, and the others complied. Joel walked to the edge of the clearing and sat with his back against a tree. He pulled his pistol from the back waistband of his jeans and held it loosely in his fist. He looked up at the starry sky, trying to outline constellations with his eyes.

When he was unable to find more than the big and Little Dipper, Joel brought his attention back to their clearing. His eyes wandered to Tommy, then Maria, and finally Ellie. Joel felt a small pang of guilt; the girl hadn't been the same since Salt Lake; Joel knew it was because of him. If he hadn't lied, to her, maybe she wouldn't be this way. Or maybe she would; he knew how much saving the world had meant to her, if he told her that he had singlehandedly taken the chance to possibly help make a cure away from her, Joel knew that she might never forgive him.

He shook his head and brought his focus to the area around them. He listened to the woods, watching that might pose a threat to him or his babygirl.

* * *

**AN: Well, that's the first chapter, I guess. More will (hopefully) be on the way soon. If you're looking for more good fanfics, you should go check out my husband's (Exangellion's) trilogy. I think I've rambled enough. Buh-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It was at times like this that Joel would wish that he could have coffee again. He'd been sitting with his back against the same tree for hours, watching his surroundings and wondering if they would be safe throughout the night.

A breeze had kicked up, blowing Joel's steadily growing hair around his head. He blinked several times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes, trying to clear his head. He felt as if he would just fall over soon, but he didn't feel like waking any of the others; he wanted to be alone for awhile. To think about the situation he'd gotten himself in with Ellie. At the thought of her, Joel felt his eyes drift over to the girl. She looked so peaceful while she slept. Even from this distance, Joel could see her perfectly.

Over the course of the year that the two of them had spent together, Joel had felt a steadily growing love for the girl that he hadn't wanted to admit. It wasn't until the ordeal she'd gone through while he had been bed ridden that he'd realized just how close he'd gotten with her. And it hadn't been until that night several weeks ago in Salt Lake that he had realized that he loved Ellie; loved her with all of his heart.

Joel shook his head and cradled it in his hands; these last few months had just been so difficult, confusing. Everything had flipped upside down and backwards. And now...Joel wasn't sure what was happening now. Wasn't sure of what was going to happen, or where they would be in the coming days. They were in the same situation that they'd been in for the last year.

The sounds of someone stirring brought Joel from his thoughts, and his gaze once again drifted to the other three lying by the now dying fire. He watched as Maria sat up, stretched. She scanned the clearing, spotted Joel and stood, making her way to him. She sat down next to him and looked up at the starlit sky.

"How long have you been sitting here?" She asked. Joel glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't matter." Was his response. They were both quiet for a long time; both took in the surrounding darkness, the heavy silence, the warm, humid air.

"You know," Maria said after several moments, "I guess I should thank you."

Joel's brows furrowed, the lines on he forehead deepened. "Fer what?" He asked without looking at Maria. He kept his gaze of him, at a thick cluster of trees.

"You and Ellie went into what was left of Jackson...you didn't have to. And to be completely honest, I'm not too sure if Tommy would've left without at least being a hundred percent sure you wouldn't be back." Joel gave his head a small shake.

"Tommy might be thick headed, but I ain't too sure he'd do somethin' as stupid as that."

"After the attack, he wouldn't stop mumbling stuff about you." Maria said after a small amount of consideration.

"Oh, really?" Joel asked, not sounding all too convinced. Joel felt Maria's gaze roam over him, and he kept his gaze forward; he didn't like to admit that she scared him or made him uneasy, but she did; maybe it was the way she could keep so calm all of the time only to lash out with a harsh anger on the drop of a hat. Perhaps Joel considered her a wildcard.

"He does care about you." Joel nodded his head, not necessarily believing it, but deciding that agreeing was better than arguing about it.

"Get some sleep," Maria said in a suddenly stern tone. "We've got a long day ahead of us." With a sigh, Joel stood, stretched and walked slowly over to the slowly dimming fire. He sat down in front of it, beside Ellie, and quietly stoked it with a stick before lying back and crossing his arms behind his head.

He stared up at the stars, suddenly aware of how tired he had gotten while sitting with his back against the tree. He searched the sky for the moon, found it and gauged that the time was somewhere around two-twenty.

It took only a few minutes before Joel slipped off into an uneasy sleep, where he dreamed of Ellie and what he would have done if he had walked into that operating room and found her with her head open and her brain in the surgeon's hands.

* * *

The sun beat down on Joel and Ellie as they walked quietly through a thick cluster of trees. Birds chirped in the branches overhead. Underfoot the foliage crunched lightly as they walked in search of food. So far the day had been peaceful.

Between Joel and Ellie there was a heavy silence. Joel knew he was to blame for the heavy silence that hung between them. It had been this way ever since Ellie had awoken after Joel had gotten them out of Saint Mary's. It just seemed to Joel like she didn't even talk to him that much anymore. Joel cleared his throat.

"Did ya' sleep okay?" He asked, just to be rid of the silence. Ellie shrugged her shoulders.

"Wasn't comfortable," she said. Joel nodded his head and stopped to look through the space between two trees. There was nothing to see. Joel sighed. He watched Ellie; she was a few feet ahead of him, his bow in her hands. Not for the first time he found himself thinking about that past winter, and how hard it must have been on the young girl before him. He wondered how long he had been bedridden; had she been able to keep herself well fed-these questions and more circled through his head whenever he thought about the ordeal she had gone through. Joel remembered how disoriented he had been when he had first awoken on that cold floor, still dressed in the clothes he'd worn...however long he had been sick.

Joel shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He didn't want to think about the nightmare his babygirl had been forced to endure while he had been half-dead.

"You...you okay?" Joel asked. He felt stupid, asking that question. Of course she wasn't okay. He'd taken the one chance she had at maybe eventually stopping the spread of the Cordyceps, and now her one chance at ever having a somewhat normal life was gone. When Jackson had been taken down, so had their chances of ever settling down. Joel wasn't sure if there were any other places like Jackson, and he sure as hell wasn't going to try and get them into some Quarentine Zone somewhere.

"Yeah Joel, I'm just peachy," Ellie said with sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Joel already knew it was a stupid question.

"You just..." Joel trailed off mid-sentence. She just what? Seemed extra quiet? It's not like she didn't have every right to be.

Joel stopped walking and sighed. He looked to his left, through the trees-and dropped down to the ground. Ellie heard him slump down and looked back. Joel motioned for her to do the same and come over to him; she did.

The sound of approaching feet reached Joel's ears and he heard two voices speaking, talking about the hunt they'd had.

"Can't fucking believe it," one of them said, "four hours out here and we haven't bagged anything. Even that readhead back there didn't have anything on her." Joel crept quietly to a rather large spruce tree and his behind it. He felt his grip on the rifle tighten.

"You need to shut the hell up," another said. "I told you I heard someone talking around here. If you don't shut your goddamn mouth you'll scare them away." Joel swallowed thickly and looked around the edge of the tree, kept hidden behind some of the thicker underbrush. There were only two of them. Joel figured they would be able to take these guys out easily. Whoever they were, they weren't friendly towards Ellie and himself. The conversation they were having told Joel enough.

He looked at Ellie and saw the question in her eyes. He nodded his head. He turned his gaze back to the two supposed bandits, who were now only about forty yards away. Joel gently slid his finger inside the rifle's trigger guard and curled his finger around the cold metal of the trigger. He glanced at Ellie one more time. Her gaze was on the two in front of them, her hands gripping the bow tightly. He took a deep breath and felt that blankness sweep over him; it was the sensation he had whenever he was in one of these situations. It was something he had quickly become accustomed to in the early days of the outbreak. If he dwelled too much on the actions he prepared to do on people, or the things that he had done to people, he would probably loose his mind completely.

Feet crunched over grass and small plants; the bandits were moving again. Joel looked at them again. Thirty yards away now. They had to act before it was too late. He glanced at Ellie, ignoring the sounds of the approaching threat. She glanced at Joel out of her peripherals.

The two of them moved at the same time. Four weapons were drawn. Joel aimed his rifle at the one closest to him and pulled the trigger. He heard the whistle of the arrow Ellie had let fly, and he saw it pierce the other bandit's throat in a spray of blood. Joel's first shot missed his target by a hair. He popped off another one; it ripped through the bandit's shoulder and he stumbled back. Joel tossed his rifle to the ground and charged forward, throwing a hard punch.

His fist hit its mark, crashing into the bandit's left cheek. He wobbled on his unsteady feet, lost his footing and fell onto his back. He tried to move, get out of the way, but it was already too late. Joel raised up one foot and brought it crashing down onto his victim's throat. There was a sickening crack and the bandit thrashed around a bit, grabbing at his throat. He gurgled out unintelligable words and Joel watched as his eyes rolled back into his head before his body went limp.

Joel took in several deep breaths and looked at Ellie. She stood with her hands at her sides, the bow now hanging lightly from one hand. Her gaze bore into the now-dead bandit.

"You alright?" Joel asked. She looked up from the battered corpse.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I'm fine." Joel brought his attention back to the corpses lying before him. He rolled both of them over and quickly rummaged through both of their packs. He came up only with a can of what looked like soup, and several bottles that looked as if they had been refilled and reused lots of times over the years.

He sighed heavily as he shoved these things into his pack. He turned to look at Ellie but she had already started walking back in the direction that they had come.

"Come on," she said, "we should get back to Tommy and Maria." Joel sighed and scratched at the back of his neck. Oh how he hated this.

With one one last pitiful glance at the dead bodies, Joel followed quickly after Ellie, blighting his tongue to keep himself from lashing out and scolding her for walking too far ahead. He felt as of he had no right in telling her such things. It was weird, what guilt could do to the mind.

* * *

**So, that was that. I suppose I should apologize to all of you who read my husbands stories, for the lack of update to basically all of his current projects. Exangellion is currently suffering a minor concussion due to a pool cue to the back of the head. That swing led to a bar fight (for those of you who don't know, he has a temper) and now he is in no shape to be doing much of anything. But you should see the other guy. I really hope someone got him to a hospital, because he was messed up.**

**But why does any of this matter, it doesn't, I thought I should just let you all be aware of the current situation. I guess I'll start trying to upload chapters of this story frequently, so that you all may enjoy it regularly. Peace out.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Shortly after returning to Tommy and Maria empty handed, Joel and Ellie took a small rest before they headed out. The four of them moved quickly, wanting to get out of Jackson county-and out of Wyoming in general.

For the first couple of hours that they walked, they felt alright. They hadn't run into any serious threats, except for the two bandits that Joel and Ellie had dispatched easily. It was an overcast day, so there wasn't as much sun beating down on them, making the day somewhat less miserable. Everything seems to be going well. They traveled northeast, making for Idaho, only because Tommy knew of a place where they could possibly set up shop there. Said it was an old cabin in the hills just outside of the rinkydink town of Blaire.

Joel knew of the place Tommy was talking about; it had been a cabin that had belonged to a good childhood friend of theirs. Many times the two of them had wanted to go vacationing there with said friend, but their parents had never allowed it.

It began to rain somewhere around three o' clock that afternoon. The stormclouds above them opened up, and the rain began to pour down atop them with a fierce power. Very quickly, Joel felt his clothes soaked through and his mood was worsened. They did not speak; they only walked. Many times Joel tried to talk to Ellie, if only to help pass the time. But then he would not be able to find the words he was searching for and he would snap his mouth shut. He couldn't believe it was even like this between the two of them. Ever since she had woke up in the back seat of that truck.

_Ever since you fed her that bullshit lie, _his mind whispered. Joel quietly blocked out that thought, knowing full well that it was true. But he could not bring himself to focus on that thought; he could not feel guilty right now, while they were on the road.

"Goddamnit," Tommy's voice brought Joel back to the real world from his thoughts. He watched his younger brother as he ran a hand through his hair and looked at the others.

"We ain't gettin' anywhere in this weather," he said. He looked around them. They were on what had been a dirt path, now turned to mud by the pouring rain. Trees lined both sides of the path, and the rain hindered their vision by a considerable amount. But just ahead of them, about ten yards, there was the outline of a sign. Tommy looked at Joel, and the two of them made their way over. Joel couldn't believe how hard it was raining; even when they stood in front of the sign, he still had to squint to see what it said.

"Says there's a firehouse about a mile from here," Joel said. He looked ahead of them at the long stretch of the muddy path. He looked at Tommy. He nodded.

"Let's go check it out," he said. Joel agreed, and called back to Ellie and Maria. Then the four of them set out at a quick pace, wanting to get out of the rain as quick as possible. The rain continued to fall, beating down on them, slowing there progress. Joel couldn't help but swear under his breath as the time passed and the rain still showed no signs of ceasing.

For what felt like hours they walked. Joel wondered if god, if there was a god, had something against him.

And then the firehouse was in sight and it was like a weight was pulled from Joel's shoulders. He picked up his pace into a fast walk, and soon they were there. Joel stopped and inspected the building; it was a small one. There was the actual firehouse and a garage that looked as if it had been tacked on as an afterthought. But that was it. Ellie stopped next to Joel and inspected the building for a few minutes.

"Why the hell would there be a fire station out here?" She asked. Joel felt a small smile grace his face. He was glad to hear Ellie asking that; her intense curiosity for things from before the outbreak was something Joel hoped never left her.

"Well, firefighters were put out here to put out wildfires. Protect nature. Stuff like that." Joel said. Ellie gave a small nod. Joel looked at Tommy and Maria.

"C'mon," he said, "the sooner we make sure this place is clear, the sooner we can get some rest." Tommy nodded his head and Joel took the lead, walking swiftly towards the firehouse's front doors. When they reached the front of the building, Joel climbed the three small steps, and Joel gripped the door's handle. He turned it and pulled to no effect. It was locked. Joel chewed on the corner of his lip for just a moment.

He pulled his pack from his shoulder and set it on the ground in front of him. He kneeled down and opened it; started sifting through the contents. He pulled from the pack a blade from a pair of scissors, a piece of wood and some old duct tape. Quietly and quickly he fashioned a shiv and shouldered his pack.

Joel shoved the blade in between the door and the doorjamb and worked on the lock until it broke with a loud _snap!_ The scissor blade broke in the door jamb, and Joel dropped the piece of wood before pulling the door open.

"Show off," he heard Tommy say. Joel could practically hear the satisfied grin his little brother had.

The inside of the firehouse was dark and foreboding. Joel reached up and flicked on the light hanging from his pack strap, shining it on the place. Dust circulated through the air, seeming to coat everything. Joel took one breath through his nose and brought a hand to his face to stop himself from sneezing. He looked around; sometime during the last twenty years, the place had been ransacked. Papers were strewn about the floor, pieces of debris had been tossed around. Near the back of the main entrance he stood in, Joel could just see a staircase. He took one step forward. Some of the debris crunched loudly underneath his feet. There was a screech and clicking from somewhere overhead. Joel looked up.

"We ain't alone," he heard Tommy whisper. Joel nodded. He looked back at the others.

"You two, search down here, make sure there ain't any infected. Tommy, c'mon," Joel said. Tommy followed him closely, and the two quietly crept to the staircase. At the base, Joel stopped and listened closely, waiting. For several long moments, there was nothing. And then he clearly heard the faint shuffling of feet. Then another and another. There were at least three clickers up there.

"Well, shit." Joel muttered to himself. Tommy glanced at him for just a moment before looking back up the stairs. Joel drew his pistol from the back waistband of his jeans and slowly; as quietly as he could, began up the stairs. As he ascended, the ominous clicking and screeching grew louder. The scent of rotting skin filled Joel's nose and his eyes began to water. He breathed deeply to his mouth, attempting to cut off the smell but there was no stopping the pungent odor from assaulting his nostrils.

Joel's foot slipped on what he figured was a small pool of blood. He hit the staircase hard, making plenty of noise. He sensed Tommy's halt behind him. Joel listened again. The screech of a clicker was hear and the pounding shuffle of its feet as it came rushing towards whatever sound it had heard; in this case, Joel. He waited still and quiet. The clickings of the two other clickers were only background noises to the shuffling of feet that was getting closer and closer. Behind Joel, Tommy stiffened, waiting for the clicker to come into view. Joel made a hand signal, telling Tommy not to shoot. Slowly he slid his pack from his shoulders and set it on the floor. He opened it, looked through it, pulled what he needed from it. From one of the side pockets he pulled an old Bic lighter.

Joel spun the wheel on the Bic and lit it. He brought the flam to the end of the rag he had sticking out of the top of the bottle he was holding. He took another step forward and brought one arm back, ready to throw the Molotov cocktail he carried. The shuffling feet of the clicker grew ever closer.

The clicker came into view, just at the top of the staircase. It stumbled around, clicking and shrieking. Joel compensated for the angle he was at, compensated for distance, and lobbed the Molotov as hard as he could. It shattered against the floor beside the clicker's feet with a crash and a whoosh as flames splashed in just about every direction. Some of the flames caught the skin of the infected, and suddenly it was a blazing flame. Writhing and thrashing about, shrieking loudly. Joel heard the sounds of the other clickers approaching, interested in only the sound they heard that was most likely food.

Soon, the three clickers lie on the floor; burnt to a crisp. Joel picked up his pack and went the rest of the way up the stairs. He and Tommy made quick work of inspecting the four or five separate rooms in the firehouse; all of them were torn up past the point of recognition. Joel searched the heaps of trash and debris for anything that could have possibly been useful, but he found nothing. The place had been wiped clean of any trace of anything useful. Joel cussed and went back downstairs to see how Maria and Ellie were doing. He found them downstairs in what had once been a kitchen. Ellie was on her knees, reaching into a hole in the floor. The moment Joel saw this, warning bells began to ring loudly in his head.

"Ellie, I don't-"

"Aha!" She cried. She shoved her other hand into the dark hole. With a loud grunt, she pulled a large box from underneath the floorboards. Joel made his way over the floor to where Ellie and Maria were crouched. He kneeled down and inspected the box carefully. His eyes gazing over just about every angle.

"Come on Joel," Ellie said impatiently. Obviously waiting for Joel to open the box. Joel sighed.

"It's not like there's a bomb in there," Maria said. Joel shot a look her way, then pulled open the top of the box. When he saw the contents inside, he let out a small chuckle and pulled one of the cans of soup out.

"Expired years ago," he said. "Guess I better get a fire goin'."

"I'll get Tommy," Maria said. She stood and left Joel with Ellie. Joel set about making a spot where they could have the fire without setting all of the scattered debris alight as well.

"That was a good find," Joel said.

"Thanks." Joel could almost hear Ellie grinning; obviously proud of herself. Joel got a fire going; opened one of the cans of soup, balanced it on some pieces of scrap wood just above the flames. Ellie and he sat in silence as Joel worked.

Tommy and Maria rejoined them a few moments later, and soon they ate, savoring every last bite despite how aged the soup was. When they had finished eating their small meal, the four of them settled down and listened to the rain outside. It was almost soothing; like a lullaby. Joel found himself slowly unwinding. He figured he would be able to get at least _some_ sleep that night...

* * *

Joel sat up abruptly and looked around him. His breathing was labored and he was covered in a fine layer of sweat. He had been sleeping peacefully for the most part. But then there had been the nightmare of Sarah. Her looking into his eyes with her tear-filled ones; a look in those orbs that almost screamed for help. And now, even when Joel blinked he could see that look in her eyes, that look that cried out to him for help. Joel took a deep breath and scrubbed a hand through his thickening hair. He looked down at the floor, the debris. When would he be able to forget all of those things? When was he going to move on completely?

Joel looked at the two sleeping forms across the room; Tommy and Maria. They're lying close to each other, arms wrapped around one another. Joel grins. He looks around for Ellie...and stiffens when he sees no sign of her. Where the hell had she gone?

Quickly, Joel climbed to his feet and listened closely. He didn't hear any distinct movement. He quietly exited the kitchen and went up the stairs; he poked his head in every room. No Ellie. Joel felt the beginning of panic rising inside of him. Where the hell had she gone? He hurried down the stairs. He quickly searched the first floor.

He found Ellie in the garage.

she sat in the driver's seat of one of the long-empty fire truck; her feet propped up on the dashboard. Her hands were tucked behind her head and she stared out of the cracked and dirty windshield, into space. Joel approached the truck and stopped by it's slightly dented door. If Ellie had noticed his presence, she showed no sign of it. She only continued to stare out of the window at nothing in particular. Joel waited for several minutes to be acknowledged. When he wasn't, he cleared his throat loudly. Ellie turned her head the slightest bit and gazed at him with her bright green eyes. Eyes that had, as of late, didn't appear to have that same glow that had filled them since the two survivors had met.

"You alright?" Joel asked carefully. Ellie gave a small nod.

"Just great Joel," she said sarcastically. Joel leaned his shoulder against the faded red paint of the truck and scratched the back of his head. It was a shitty question. None of the four of them were doing all that well at the moment.

Joel sighed heavily. "Ya' have a nightmare?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Is there somethin' on your mind?" She shrugged.

"Sure," she said nonchalantly. But Joel had known her long enough to know when she was upset, or something was off.

Joel pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "You wanna' talk about it?"

Ellie was quiet with a long time. The silence stretched on to the point where Joel considered asking the question again. But Ellie spoke first.

"What else happened with the fireflies?" Joel, who had opened his mouth to say something, felt his stomach tighten. He stood there with his mouth agape for just a second, snapped it shut. What was he supposed to say to that? He had figured that this conversation was coming, just not this soon. Joel tried hard to figure out something, _anything_ that could get him out of this situation. But what? What could he say to fix this?

"Whadya' mean?" He heard himself asking her. Ellie took her feet off of the dash and turned in the seat so that she was facing Joel.

"Come on, cut the bullshit Joel." He winced internally at the harshness of her words. She hadn't been this way with him in quite awhile. But he kept himself under control; he couldn't let anything slip yet. Maybe when they got to the cabin in Blaire. Maybe then.

"Ellie, I ain't got the faintest idea of what you're talking about-"

"Don't play stupid with me, Joel," she barked. Joel snapped his mouth shut hard and stared at her. He had no idea of how to respond to the way she barked at him; if it had been anybody else he probably would have knocked their lights out. But now Joel reigned in the frustration that was growing inside of him, told himself Ellie was justified in her anger.

"Either you fed me complete _bullshit _about what happened in Salt Lake, or you didn't tell me everything." Joel had to hold back yet another wince when he heard how sure Ellie sounded. How sure she was that she knew the truth. And she did, Joel had fed her complete bullshit and she knew it. And now he would have to cover his tracks temporarily-at least until they got to someplace that was safe. If Ellie decided to run off while they were still anywhere near Jackson, there was a good chance that she could be picked up by the bandits who had taken the place down.

* * *

**AN: Yeah, I think I'm going to leave you there with a cliffhanger. Next time we'll get to see how Joel's going to try and dig his way out of the mess he's gotten himself in. But buh-bye until then.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Joel swallowed thickly; he kept eye contact with Ellie, all the while trying to figure out what it was he was going to say. _Come on, think!_ Joel's mind whispered.

Joel put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Ellie, I have no idea what you're talkin' about," he said. He guessed he should just play it the way he always did and just stick to his story.

"Oh come _on_ Joel," she said. "You and I both know what you told me was bullshit." Joel cursed himself. He could not believe he had gotten himself into this.

"Ellie," he said in a stern voice that would hopefully put this argument to rest for now. "I already said I don't know what yer' talkin' about. Now-"

"You did something to them, didn't you?" Ellie asked suddenly. The look in her eye told Joel that she thought she had pieced the puzzle together. And based on what she had just said, it was apparent that she had. Joel looked at the floor and took one deep breath.

"When I got ya' out of the water, you weren't breathing," he said finally. He would have to speak quickly, just let the whole story spill out before he lost his nerve and conjured up more lies.

"I tried to get ya' breathing again, but some of the fireflies spotted us and assumed we weren't friendly. Knocked me out cold." Joel swallowed. "When I woke up, Marlene told me they were...preppin' you for surgery. Said I couldn't see you, sort of a 'we don't need you anymore' kinda thing." He trailed off and waited a second, trying to figure out some way to tell Ellie what happened next.

"What did you do Joel?" Ellie asked impatiently. Her voice held a mix of anxiousness and unease. She knew what he was going to tell her wouldn't be easy to hear.

"I killed 'em," Joel suddenly spat out. There. He'd said it, and now there was no going back. "I killed 'em all-any firefly who got in my way died in there." Ellie stared at him with wide eyes. Her shock at how blunt he'd been about it was apparent.

When she asked her next question, she spoke slowly and hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear his answer. "...And Marlene?"

Joel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Her too. I put a bullet in her head." Didn't even think twice about it either. It was Marlene or Ellie; a horribly easy decision to make.

Joel waited quietly for the shouts that Ellie would direct at him, the cussing she would do, he prepared himself to be hit, he prepared for Ellie to run off, he would have to chase after her if she did.

But she did none of these things. She only stood and shoved past Joel hard, muttering, "You son of a bitch." She went through the door to the garage and slammed it shut. Joel listened intently. From where he stood, he heard Ellie pound up the stairs and stop somewhere above him.

But surprisingly, to Joel, this reaction seemed to hurt him more than anything else she could have done. Joel hung his head and sat on the leather seat where Ellie had been only moments before, and tried to figure out a way he would be able to fix things between himself and his babygirl.

* * *

They were walking again. It had stopped raining, the sky was clear and the weather was warm. This did not make Joel feel any better. Instead, only seemed to add to the depression, frustration and anger that he currently felt. He was angry at himself, angry and frustrated with his own constant stubbornness and the way he always seemed to he able to get anybody angry of upset at him.

They walked all that day, stopping only three times for rests, but that was it. Many times Joel found that he was well aware of the distance between Ellie and himself. He was well aware of how she would not look even in his direction. He couldn't believe that he had fucked this up so bad.

They came into Idaho just before sundown. The town they came into was a rather small one-Idaho Falls. Joel remembered the place from the one time he and Tommy had been there, it had probably been the worst family vacation they'd been on, and it had been the last one Joel had partook in before Sarah had been conceived.

Tommy my seemed to remember that vacation as well. "You remember that car wreck we were in Joel?"

Joel nodded. "How could I forget? He asked.

Tommy my flashed a small smile. "Remember mom flyin' out the window? It was a good thing that truck didn't roll a fifth time, or she woulda' been a pancake." Joel gave Tommy a small smirk, but said nothing else.

"You were in a wreck that bad?" Ellie asked. Joel had opened his mouth to answer before he realized that her question had been directed at Tommy. And his little brother was already answering her question. Suppressing an aggravated growl, Joel jammed his fists into his pockets and stared at the cracked, overgrown asphalt he was treading on. He squeezed his eyes closed and let out a loud sigh, shutting out the sound of Tommy's voice, talking about the car wreck they'd been in as teenagers.

"Hey," a voice said with the tone of someone who had tried several times to gain someone's attention. Joel looked to his right at Maria.

"What?" He asked, pulling his hands out of his pockets and adjusting one of the straps on his pack.

"You look like you're about to rip someone's head off. What's wrong?" Despite the way he felt, Joel couldn't help the grin that graced his features. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothin' I'm fine," he replied. "Just thinkin' is all."

"About?" Joel huffed. He wasn't getting out of this one; Maria was nothing if not persistent.

"Ellie. She ain't exactly been doin' great since we found out Jackson had been wiped out." He said. And it wasn't a complete lie; Joel knew that had been one of the things bothering Ellie before she got the truth out of him about the fireflies.

"Hey," Tommy said, stopping suddenly. "This might be a good place to stop for the night." He pointed to their right, towards the dilapidated remains of an old train bridge, stretching across the rapid water of the Snake River. Joel gave a small nod and carefully picked his way across the grassy earth beside the river, to the bridge. Jutting out from underneath the metal that had been build into the land was an outcropping of earth. Joel looked up; the bridge overhead gave them a halfway decent shelter.

Joel sat down on the grass, shrugged off his pack and leaned back against the metal. Ellie, Tommy and Maria settled into their temporary camp. Tommy insisted on taking watch; when Joel had been convinced that Tommy wouldn't give in, he settled down on his back and stared up at the underneath of the bridge, and the expanse of darkening sky above them.

It took only a few moments for him to drift off into a fitful and uneasy sleep.

* * *

**AN: Well that is that. Sorry the chapter is shorter than the last one, I'm exhausted. My husband and I, our band played a concert at a bar last night, and then like, a half an hour after we got home this lady came knocking on our door. Turns out she's my husband's twin sister that his mother always told him died in childbirth. She said she needed a place to stay, cause she wanted to move to Vegas to be close to her brother, so she basically moved in last night. So Exangellion probably won't be uploading any chapters to any of his current stories, he and his twin sister have a lot of catching up to do.**

**Also, a little fun fact about this chapter. A year after my husband and I met, he went on a vacation with us to Idaho, and we were in a horrible car wreck. My parent's car flipped like, six times. My mom flew out the window, and if the car wouldn't have stopped when it did, my mom would have been a pancake. I just thought that would have been a fun little experience Ellie could have learned about Joel and Tommy. But anyway, I think I'v rambled on enough. I hope you liked what you read and I hope you'll stick around to see more. Peace out.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

_Blood. There was so much blood. Joel held her tightly in his arms, trying to stop the vital life granting blood from leaving her body. _

_"C'mon babygirl, stay with me," he spoke, his voice barely a whisper. Her blood leaked in between his fingers and stained his skin crimson. She cried out in pain, her arms gripped Joel's arm. _

_"You're gonna be okay babygirl, you'll be fine." He said, more to himself than to the dying girl in his arms. _

_"Okay, I'm gonna' pick you up," he said. He needed to get her to safety before she bled out. But as he moved to stand, he felt her body go limp in his arms. Joel's eyes returned to her, and he felt his heart shatter. _

_"No...no..." Joel felt the tears flowing from his eyes; he did not pay any attention to that. His babygirl was dead. _

_Ellie was dead..._

Joel's eyes jerked open and he shot up into a sitting position, his breathing ragged, his heart beating rapidly, a thin layer of sweat covering his body. He looked around him; he was still lying underneath the bridge, close to the Snake River. The water rushed by, the sound of it quickly put Joel at ease. He looked first at Tommy and Maria, lying in each other's arms. Then to Ellie, sitting off to the right, staring at the water. She held his rifle loosely in her hands.

"I hate bad dreams," she said, acknowledging Joel's conscious presence. Joel felt grateful for that, at least she was showing that she knew he existed again.

The sun peaked out from the horizon behind them, bathing the earth in its warmth. Ellie sat out from underneath the bridge, and she too was showered in sunlight; Joel thought it made her look like some divine being.

Slowly, wincing at the painful stiffness in his joints, Joel stood and walked over to where Ellie sat. He lowered himself down beside her and stared at the water as well, wondering if she saw something in it that he did not.

"Joel?" Ellie spoke quietly. For just a second, Joel thought he had imagined Ellie speaking.

"Huh? What is it, babygirl?" He eventually asked, breaking his gaze from the river's rushing water to look at Ellie. She didn't look at him, only continued to gaze at the water.

"I've been thinking..." She seemed to trail off, but Joel waited patiently.

"Why?" Ellie asked finally. Joel didn't need an explanation; the fireflies were obviously the topic.

Joel considered several answers. After only a few moments he said, "I lost everythin' when Sarah died. Just 'bout lost my mind, too. Guess I became some kinda monster." He paused, scratched at his arm.

"When you were thrown on me...well, I hadn't exactly been thrilled. And when Tess died, a part of me blamed you for it." He trailed off, unsure of what to say next. He thought for several minutes before speaking again.

"But I know how wrong I was, now. I couldn't live without ya'. And so...when Marlene said they would have ta'..." Joel stopped speaking; there wasn't much else he could say at this point. He would just wait and see how Ellie responded to this.

And it looked as if she were going to respond; say something that seemed to be at least somewhat important. But she was cut off by someone whistling. One quick glance at Tommy and Maria told Joel that it wasn't them making the noise. Cautiously, Joel stood and looked to their right, saw nothing.

And then, accompanying the whistling, the clapping of feet on wood. Joel looked up and back; and then he was able to pinpoint the sound. Someone was slowly approaching their position. Joel glanced over to Ellie. She, too, stood and was reaching behind herself to draw her weapon. Joel himself placed his hand on the butt of his revolver, resting in its makeshift holster.

Slowly, the whistling grew louder and whoever it was making the noise showed no notice of their movement. And then Joel saw the person above them, walking atop the ridge above them, moving leisurely upstream. It was a teenager, looked to be somewhere around Ellie's age. Although, Joel couldn't really tell from his lower position.

Joel's eyes quickly roamed over the kid; he took in all physical aspects he could; the thick, dark brown hair, his thin face. The kid was of a decent height, from where Joel stood it looked like they were close to the same height.

And then Joel had to stop inspecting the kid; he must have noticed them out of the corner of his eyes, because he turned his head in their direction; immediately his whistling was cut short and he stopped walking. Joel saw, with trained eyes, the way the kid tensed and moved his hand quickly towards his hip, as if it were a natural instinct, that he was reaching for a gun.

But Joel and Ellie moved quicker. Joel trained his revolver on the kid and Ellie stared down the sights of her pistol. The kid stopped all movement and froze. For almost a full moment, the three stayed still, Joel and Ellie keeping their eyes trained on the kid. Finally, the kid hung his head.

"Fuck," Joel heard him hiss to himself. Then he looked back at them. "I don't have anything valuable," he said. Joel looked at Ellie out of the corner of his eye, then back at the kid. After several moments, Joel lowered his revolver. Ellie did the same. Even from where he stood, Joel could see the relief cross the kid's features.

"Hey, uh...thanks man." He said. Joel tensed when he began down the ridge to them. "It would have ruined my day if you blew my head off." The kid stopped when he reached the base of the ridge. For just a moment he stood there with his hands stuffed in his jacket's pockets; then reached out.

"Aiden, at your service," he said. Joel glanced at Ellie once more. She shook Aiden's hand.

"Ellie," she said. "This is Joel," she said, motioning in Joel's direction. Aiden shoved his hands back in his pockets and looked both Joel and Ellie over.

"You know," he said after a few seconds of silence. "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to mooch off you guys, especially considering we just met. But you wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you? I haven't had any food since breakfast, yesterday."

Joel stared Aiden down for several long moments before hesitantly nodding; he wasn't sure if he liked this kids easygoing attitude. Aiden easily picked up on Joel's unease.

"You don't got spare anything, I'm just wondering." Joel exhaled loudly; finally gave his head a small nod before turning away and making his way back over to where he had been lying, underneath the bridge.

"Thanks," Aiden said when Joel tossed him a can of soup his pack. Aiden plopped down onto the grass next to Tommy and Maria; both stirred and stiffened when they caught sight of Aiden cutting the top of the can open with a combat knife he's had strapped to his belt. When he realized he was being watched, Aiden looked at Tommy and Maria and held out a hand.

"What's up?" He asked easily. Tommy looked from Aiden to Joel, then back. Maria kept her gaze on the teen as she moved into a sitting position. Neither of them offered to shake with him. Aiden shrugged and tipped the can of soup back. Tommy turned to Joel.

"So," he said after a minute. Joel opened his mouth to speak, but Ellie beat him to it.

"His name's Aiden." She said.

Aiden nodded. "And I'm friendly, don't worry." He tipped the can of soup back again, taking another swallow of the expired food.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Aide. Said when he'd finished his food. Joel nodded and shifted around before speaking.

"So, who are you with?" He asked.

"Nobody. I've been alone for...jeez, a few months now." Aiden said this as if he had just sat down and thought about the time that passed.

"You've had a place to stay, then?" It was Maria who asked this. Aiden nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "It's actually in Blaire, the next town over. Came down here looking for good places to scavenge, and was out too long. Had to stay the night in an old record store." Aiden chuckled. "Only good thing I got out of this run was some old 8-tracks."

Aiden shrugged the old and worn backpack off of his shoulders and opened it, producing a beat up 8-track as proof. He held it out to Joel. He took it and inspected it. The lettering was faded, but after a few seconds he was able to make out what it said.

"Skid Row," he read aloud.

"Good band," Tommy said. Joel handed the 8-track back to Aiden. A silence surrounded them, until an important question rose to the surface of Joel's mind.

"Where in Blaire do you live, exactly?"

Aiden shrugged. "I actually live just outside of Blaire. It's this old cabin." Joel felt his eyes widen; Tommy, Maria and Ellie shared similar expressions.

"What?" Aiden asked.

"There ain't any way you could take us there?" Tommy asked before Joel could respond.

"Sure," Aiden said. "It's been getting pretty boring up there all by myself." He looked at all of them in turn, then stood.

"Well, just meet me up by the road. We'll head out whenever you're ready." And then he was climbing back up the ridge. Joel watched him go, his eyes not leaving the gun and combat knife hanging from his belt. Then he looked at Tommy.

"You really believe that story?" He asked.

"Seems sincere enough." Tommy replied.

"And you're just gonna' buy it? Especially after what happened with Jackson?" Tommy winced at this and Ellie spoke.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of sleeping outside. Right now, I don't really give a fuck if he's lying or not, we'll take care of him if he is."

Joel sighed loudly and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Fine," he said, standing and picking up his pack.

"Let's get goin'."

* * *

**AN: Yeah, that's all I've got for now. Sorry it took me a little while to update, things at home are going on and I've been busy. **

**Also, I have to thank Galen Devereaux for the OC Aiden. But that's all I've got to say for now. Talk to y'all later.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The hours passed and nightfall rapidly approached. Aiden moved quickly, leading them through the dilapidated streets of Idaho Falls; many times he would stop their progress only to quietly sneak them through some detour, avoiding packs of infected as if he were some kind of psychic who could see where the creatures would be. It was apparent to Joel that the kid knew this place well.

Within the space of two hours, the five of them were outside Idaho Falls city limits and were walking along the long expanse of some highway which Joel did not remember. They walked along this for hours; they spent most of their day on it. Once did Aiden stop to relax.

"This highway's always crawling with bandits or infected. Don't like to stay around for too long," he'd said when Joel had asked him why he was in such a hurry to get off of the highway.

They came into Blaire around sunset. But even in the growing darkness Aiden led them quickly and quietly; even in the darkness he was able to maneuver as good as if he had a map or something. Every once in awhile he would stop them, disappear from their sight and then come back telling them they needed to be even more careful. Several times they quietly snuck past packs of infected; making their way quickly to the complete other side of the little town-the west side.

From there, Aiden led them down another stretch of highway, down a turnoff and into the hills.

"Pretty sure this is the way we were supposed ta' be heading," Tommy told Joel. "I recognize it from the pictures." Joel remembered the pictures their friend had shown them of his cabin just outside of Blaire; their current location did, in fact, look familiar. How he remembered that was beyond him, but he did.

"Well," Aiden said, pointing ahead of them. "There it is, finally made it." Joel peered through the ever darkening air and spotted the cabin just ahead. There wasn't much to see; the cabin probably only had a bedroom or two, and from the size of it, Joel could tell that it was a single story building. But none of those things even remotely mattered as they approached the structure. It would be like heaven to be able to sleep on something besides the floor; even if they didn't stay there long, it would be a nice bit of relief.

In a matter of moments they were within feet of the cabin. Joel stopped, listened carefully. He waited for any kind of sound that would indicate someone moving around somewhere within the immediate vicinity. On the cabin's front were two windows; Joel watched them but saw nothing that would indicate someone was inside.

Aiden saw Joel's close inspection and chuckled softly.

"Relax," he said. "I've already told you I'm friendly. And personally, I don't feel like getting my head blown off." When Joel showed no sign of relaxing, Aiden sighed.

"At least come inside, check the place out for yourself. If anything raises your suspicions you can leave." As an afterthought, he added: "I hope nothing _does_ raise suspicion, or you'll probably kill me."

Having said this, Aiden stepped up to the cabin's front door, twisted the knob and pushed it inward. He gestured the rest of them forward. Hesitating for only just one moment, Joel entered the cabin. There were no lights on in the place; he reached up and flicked on the light hanging from his packs strap. With his hand resting on the butt of his revolver, hanging from his hip, Joel made a quick scan of the main room; he saw nothing except the old furniture that adorned the place: a couch, two torn chairs and a TV with a dirt and grime covered screen. Set against the wall opposite the front door was a large bookshelf, cluttered with neglected books. Just to their right was the cabin's small kitchenette, to the right, a short hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.

Behind himself, Joel heard Tommy, Maria and Ellie slowly enter the cabin after him. Aiden followed just behind them.

"You know," Aiden said. "I could get some light going." Joel watched the teen cross over to the kitchen, pull a book of matches from his pocket and light the three candles on the counter. That area of the cabin was bathed in a dim, comforting glow.

"There's a couple of candles in the bedrooms. I think there's a few by the couch as well." Aiden said, moving to the couch and crouching in front of it. He felt around in the darkness, found the candles and lit them.

"Well," he said, standing and clapping his hands together. "I'm sure the four of you are tired. If you'd like, you can take the bedrooms. I haven't slept in either of them, so you don't have to worry about me." Before anymore words could be exchanged, the young man led the four of them down the hall.

"Bathroom's behind the last door, but there isn't any running water. I'll leave you guys to pick which bedroom you'd like to sleep in for the night, let you get your sleep. Tomorrow we can figure out what you guys want to do." With that said, Aiden gave them his farewell, and then he was walking down the hallway, out to the main room. Joel spared one last glance in the direction of the main room.

"We should share one of the bedrooms tonight." He said. "Just in case he does try anything." He gazed at each of them in turn; none argued Joel's point. Using his flashlight, Joel inspected each room; it didn't take long for him to decide. The room he picked was the larger of the two. The bed was old and it's mattress felt as hard as a rock. On the wall opposite the bedroom door there was a large window, one even Joel could easily get through in a hurry if the situation demanded it.

After Joel had shut the door, found and lit the candles that were in the bedroom, he went to the window and looked out, watching again for any kind of movement. He had to admit, it felt good to be indoors, but something about the place felt off to him. It was like he was being watched.

"Hey," someone said beside Joel. He looked left, at Tommy. "You gonna' get some rest?" He asked.

Joel shrugged. "Go on ahead, I'm gonna' keep watch for a bit."

"You sure?" Tommy asked. Joel nodded an affirmative in response. Tommy sighed and gave in, leaving Joel to stay up and keep watch. For only a moment, Joel watched the other three; Ellie sitting on the floor with her back against the bed, flashlight on, the joke book Joel couldn't stand in her hand. He watched Tommy and Maria, talking quietly on the bed. He took his gaze away from them and back to the window. Quietly, he slid down to the floor and listened closely to their surroundings. Waiting for anything.

* * *

Outside of the small cabin, the air was still, the temperature still relatively high. Nothing seemed to move in that quiet darkness, except for the two figures sitting still in the high boughs of one of the many pine trees. Carefully, they watched the cabin; one of them watched as one of the men who had entered the house shortly before stared at the surrounding trees, not seeing them hidden in the shadow cast by the trees.

"So, what do we do now that there's more than one person in there?" The smaller of the two men asked. The one watching the window did not reply immediately; he only watched and waited. When the guy staring out of the window had disappeared into the cabin's comforting darkness, he looked at his companion.

"We do what we were going to do; take 'em." He said.

"Yeah, but," the other said. "It ain't going to be as easy, Luther."

"You're right," said Luther. "But when we have 'em, and we can do whatever the hell we want with 'em...then it'll be worth it." He looked at the house once more with a dreamy glint in his eyes. He just couldn't wait to get his hands on the people in that cabin. He could not wait to make them bleed, and scream.

* * *

Joel jerked awake when he felt someone sitting down next to him. He looked around in the relative darkness, save for the flickering light from the candles, and saw Ellie. Immediately he relaxed and leaned his head back against the wall, ignoring the stiff pain in his neck. For a moment he wondered how long he had been asleep, but quickly be deemed this question unimportant; instead he waited quietly for any kind of word or acknowledgement from Ellie. It took several minutes, but Joel's quiet patience was rewarded.

"So," Ellie said quietly. "I've been thinking, about the fireflies...and I'm sorry." Joel's brows furrowed and his head turned to her.

"Sorry for what?" He asked.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think you'd kill the fireflies without some kind of good reason for it besides me going into surgery, you didn't really explain what they had been planning to do that set you off."

Joel sighed, scrubbed a hand across his face. Joel supposed that would have been a good thing to do when he'd been explaining himself to her. "Marlene told me they were gonna have to cut your brain out ta get at the...mutation that makes you immune. They were gonna kill you and I..." He trailed off, took a deep breath. "I couldn't lose you. I don't know what I woulda' done if I did." Joel looked down at his dirt-caked boots, noticing the large hole in the side of one of them; he would need to get that fixed sometime.

With the a small shake of his head, Joel brought himself back to his current conversation with Ellie. He looked at her, sitting beside him and he felt an overwhelming amount of relief; things weren't completely ruined between him and Ellie and for that he was grateful.

He he cleared his throat. "Look," he said carefully. "I'm sorry, for not tellin' you the truth about the fireflies. I just...I figured that if I told you what had really happened, ya' would go back, or leave. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep goin' without you." He set his eyes on Ellie; he waited for anything, any kind of response.

After only a few moments, she sighed and said, "Apology accepted, I guess."

It felt as if an immense weight was lifted off of Joel's shoulders, and he found himself more relaxed than he had been since the events in Salt Lake.

"We should get some sleep," he said. Joel slid down, until he was lying on his back with the top of his head just an inch or two from the wall. Beside him, he felt Ellie do the same. Once she was settled as well, Joel reached out with his arm and wrapped it protectively around Ellie's shoulders. In moments, her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.

For the first time in what felt like years, it seemed that, in that moment, everything would be okay. In just a few minutes, Joel was drifting off as well, joining Ellie in the world of sleep.

* * *

**AN: So, real quick, I need to apologize for making you all wait two months exactly (yesterday) to read more. But this little thing called life got super crazy and busy for me and my husband and neither of us has real been able to get any writing done. But anyway, what did you think? Let me know by leaving a review and I hope you all stick around for the next chapter. Peace out.**


End file.
